The other day, I mentioned an atheist named Larry Darby who happened to be an anti-Semite and Holocaust denier. I was perturbed because this clown was coming far too close to my neck of the woods for comfort, and the stench of his vileness offended me. Because Darby is an atheist, not surprisingly fellow ScienceBloggers PZ and Ed both noticed his making news lately, although Razib had the far more interesting take on this clown when he pointed out that the racialist radical right actually has more atheists in it than one might expect. He’s quite correct. Having waded into the cesspools that are the discussion forums frequented by white supremacists and having gotten into it with them rebutting their near-ubiquitous Holocaust denial, it’s no news to me that a significant number of them are either atheist, agnostic, or even pagan, with the Norse mythos of Odin worship being perhaps the most common variety of paganism espoused by their number. As Razib points out:

The vast majority of atheists & agnostics in the USA are on the political Left (and if on the Right they are libertarians, like myself). Their views on race are generally rather liberal. It is probably true that the vast majority of milk-toast racists are Christian in the United States (in large part because the vast majority of Americans are Christian), but, once you move to the marginal fringes you start encountering other types. One natural implication of the Jewish origins of Christianity for many white nationalists who worship their race first and foremost is the rejection of Christian religion. Sometimes this takes the form of Neo-Paganism (see Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism). But often atheism is the default state once they have rejected their traditional religious beliefs.

White supremacists have a tendency to worship strength and despise pacificism or what they perceive to be weakness. That is why some of them view Jesus’s teachings as anathema to “Aryan” values and prefer instead a “warrior religion” or no religion at all. In my experience, that also seems to explain why so many of them follow some variety or other of the warped version of Christianity known as Christian Identity, which for them has the added benefit of making whites, not Jews, God’s real chosen people.

In any case, here’s more evidence (if any were needed) that Darby is a full-on Looney Tune in other areas as well:

State attorney general candidate Larry Darby wants to protect the Southern culture.

So the Montgomery Libertarian-turned-Democrat has a plan, including declaring martial law, that he says would solve the illegal immigrant problem and re-establish Alabama’s sovereignty.

Darby’s opponent in the Democratic primary is John Tyson Jr. Incumbent Troy King or Mark Montiel will face off in the Republican primary. The primaries are June 6.

Darby began his campaign for state attorney general in 2002, but ended that campaign after a few weeks. He said he now considers himself a “Dixiecrat.”

Darby compared the illegal immigrant problem with the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, saying both are changing the Southern culture for the worse. He said the Brown v. Board of Education case and Civil Rights Act “empowered the communist popular front” and brought unwelcome changes to the South.

“The big issue is the Mexican invasion,” Darby said. “This is an assault on our Southern culture and very survival as a people.”

Darby is founder and general counsel for the Atheist Law Center. He was president of the Atheist Center until a controversy over him inviting Holocaust denier David Irving to speak at an atheist meeting forced his resignation.

Darby said he would bring the Alabama National Guard back from Iraq because “they’re fighting for Israeli interests and not for Alabama or the United States’ interests.”

He said he would then ask for the governor to declare martial law “so we could act freely and stop the illegal immigrants from crossing our border.” He would set up checkpoints for a period of time.

Darby said he would then “empower” county sheriffs’ departments and set up a statewide constable system to “ferret out” illegal immigrants that are already in the state.

“We need to take pride in our counties and state and clean up Alabama,” Darby said. “We are being invaded by a foreign country. This is an attack on Alabama sovereignty. The U.S. government has failed us, and the country is disintegrating.”

We should be thankful that this guy is highly unlikely to be elected to high public office. After all, in Alabama, you’ll never see an avowed atheist getting elected Attorney General. Another disturbing thing about this case is that the Atheist Law Center hasn’t kicked him out entirely, rather than simply forcing him out as its president, over his racism. He’s still listed as the organization’s general counsel.

I have to go wash up now before clinic. I feel dirty reading this guy’s views. He’s making David Duke seem almost reasonable by comparison–almost.

Comments

I know that Nietzsche wasn’t a racist, himself (Sis was, though, big time), but his rejection of Christianity (Judaism, too, of course) as a limiting factor against leading a fully realized life has been a clarion call to atheism for all sorts of people who believed they were better than the rest of us…. I haven’t seen the “Jewish origins of Christianity” argument myself (but I don’t read those guys directly, most of the time), but I have seen the “Christianity limits our racial options” argument.

Yeah, I’ve seen a fair number of racist pagans, too. The worst of the Asatru movement goes the same way, worshipping strength and violence and despising that weak ‘turn the other cheek’ stuff, and they also get into that Nordic supremacy crap.

At least I see many atheists denouncing this man for what he is, ignorant and bigotted. Why do so few mainstream Christians stand up and denounce the racists and bigots like Phelps and his family or even the loony creationists like Hovind?

As a human being I am, of course, disgusted and sickened by Darby, but as an atheist, I’m not shocked to find him in my ‘company.’ Situations like this are why I developed “Prup’s Law” — it’ll be “Prup’s First Law” if I ever come up with a second one — which states that “Whatever position you take on any political, religious, social, or sexual dispute, you are going to find a few idiots agreeing with you.”
The trouble is that there are always people opposing you who will throw the idiots back at you and try and make it look like you agree with them because they agree with you. (As a liberal, I’ve been stuck with the babblings of Noam Chomsky most of my life; as a believer in a sane multiculturalism, I’ve had to explain that this ISN’T the same as the fools who argue that you ‘shouldn’t punish a Muslim man for wife-beating because its part of his culture.’ And of course Howard Dean’s howl has been thrown back at me when I declare I am a liberal Democrat.)

The only suggestion to avoid high blood pressure and to stay calm when you are in this situation is to quietly repeat the mantra:
“The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend.” And then to lob a (verbal) hand-grenade at the fool while you are arguing the topic you and he supposedly agree on. (Of course, if you can convince him to change his position so your opponent is stuck with his stupidity, that’s ideal, but empty-headedness frequently results in hard-headedness and you are stuck with him.)

You might have forgotten that he torqued off his core atheist constituency by inviting David Irving to speak about Holocaust denial to their convention at a Tuscaloosa Holiday Inn. I don’t think Irving was happy to find 12 grim atheists who neither applauded nor asked questions. The rest of the organization was furious with Darby, and I think they fired him for that stunt.

This before Irving entered the Austrian calaboose, of course. It’s worth noting that while his home is in London, he spends most of his time when free at his alternate digs in Key West, Florida.

You might have forgotten that he torqued off his core atheist constituency by inviting David Irving to speak about Holocaust denial to their convention at a Tuscaloosa Holiday Inn. I don’t think Irving was happy to find 12 grim atheists who neither applauded nor asked questions. The rest of the organization was furious with Darby, and I think they fired him for that stunt.

I mentioned Darby’s flirtation with David Irving in my last post about him. However, the image you present is amusing to contemplate. Even so, Darby’s smiling face still shows up on the Atheist Law Center’s website as its general counsel. I think he was just ousted as its president but remains a member in good standing.

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